Clowns shared the Word of God with over five thousand children during twenty-six performances in Trinidad, West Indies, during a clown evangelism mission trip. The clowns performed at public schools, private schools, day-care centers, churches, and public housing areas. For American clowns, it was a strange situation to be able to talk about God, Jesus, and the Bible in a public school. The Bible is taught in public schools.
This article is an overview of the clown evangelism mission trip from the perspective of Dale Lee, the clown team leader. The mission trip (May 21-30, 1993) was organized through the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Dale used to be a member of the International Mission Board's home office staff.
DECISION TO GO ON THE MISSION TRIP TO TRINIDAD
In 1992, Linda and I were asked to go on a clown mission trip to Costa Rica. We started making plans to go to Costa Rica and soon became aware that we did not have time to develop several clown programs that could be presented to a non English speaking audience. In 1993, we were mentally ready to say YES to the trip to Trinidad because of the planning toward the Costa Rica trip.
Before I agreed to go to Trinidad, I had to find out where it was. I knew it was a Caribbean island. I thought it was an island that cruise ships often included in their schedules. That is all I knew. I went to the library to find out more information.
I accepted the responsibility of serving as the clown team leader which was responsible for organizing the team and planning the programs the clowns would perform. I had on the job training in being a clown mission team leader.
Linda and I were unsure of what we would be doing during the trip and would need to do to plan for the trip. We were able to talk with a person that had been on a mission trip a few months earlier that was based at the same church that the clown team would be based. Insights gained from talking with this person proved very valuable.
WHERE IS TRINIDAD AND WHAT IS ITS HISTORY
Trinidad is part of the country, Trinidad & Tobago. Trinidad is about seven miles off the eastern coast of South American country, Venezuela. Port of Spain is the capital city. The island of Trinidad has been controlled by Spain, France, and England. Trinidad & Tobago became a sovereign state on August 31, 1962.
Many people ended up in Trinidad from Africa and India to work on the plantations. The people of Trinidad can trace their ancestors to Africa, India, Spain, France, and England. The culture of Trinidad & Tobago is a blend of the these cultures.
It was a relief to find out that the official language of Trinidad is English. The public water was safe to drink, and the clowns did not get sick while visiting Trinidad.
ROLE OF PRAYER BEFORE AND DURING THE MISSION TRIP
There were many questions that I could only obtain partial answers before leaving for Trinidad. I would not know the exact answers until I was in Trinidad. Belief that God would give me directions was a calming affect on me.
One specific event has stayed with me and continues to be a source of encouragement for me. I had owned a magic trick for about a year and had not used it, because I could not get it to work. The trick packs small and plays big which was very important to me, because we were very limited in space. The day before I was leave on the trip, I decided to call the creator of the trick to get any other instructions on how to perform the trick. His name was Doc Haley, and he was a magician and owned a printing company. He produced Christian based magic tricks. To my surprise, Doc answered the phone when I called. He told me to forget the instructions that came with the trick, and he would give me better instructions. The instructions were simple, and I was able to perform the trick. This trick became the most performed skit and trick used by the clowns during the trip. The trick dealt with alcohol, drugs, and smoking. These are all problems for youth in Trinidad.
I took a chance hoping I would get to talk to someone that would give me some pointers on how to use the magic trick. There is no doubt in my mind that God gave me the idea of calling Doc Haley. I was hesitant, because I did not want another long distance phone call bill. I am now more willing to act on thoughts I have that are not supported by logic and reasoning. To me this is called FAITH.
The mission trip was comprised of two teams. A drama team of four people from California, and a clown team that was made up of four people with two from Virginia, one from North Carolina, and one from Florida. The drama team members worked together before the mission trip. The clown team members met for the first time at the Miami, Florida, airport on their way to Trinidad.
The drama team's focus was on teenagers. The focus of the clown team was children and preschoolers. The drama team and clown team performed only two times at the same location which was a church and a community recreation center.
The formation of the clown team was an interesting experience for me. Initially the clown team was to be Linda "Little Lee" Lee and Dale "Slow Beau" Lee. Since we had been working together for about five years, planning programs would be easy.
Later, Susanne Stimson, a clown living in Florida asked to be a part of the team. I was reluctant to add a clown to the team since there would be no time to practice before leaving on the trip. I agreed to include Susanne, because she was an experienced clown. I decided that for the programs presented the first couple of days would be built around Linda and me performing our skits and Susanne would present skits that she could do by herself. After we had time to see each other perform several times, we would develop skits that would include all clowns.
Another twist occurred when Sandy Robinson who lived in North Carolina asked to be a part of the clown team. She was interested in being a clown, and she had no experience. I talked with her and decide to include her in the team. She had a costume and had developed a clown face. She was agreeable to dress as a clown and help where she could, and that she would watch and learn. She did not know it until we got to Trinidad, but my plan was to involve her as soon as she was willing. After watching Linda and I for several performances, she would select any of our props with which she could use to perform with us or by herself. We worked with her to learn the skits she liked. She proved to be a quick learner and had a personality that made it easy for her to relate to the children.
I had worked for two years as a solo clown and worked for three years as a team with Little Lee. For more than one clown to work together, there requires a good working relationship that only comes from performing together. Even though I had agreed to include the two clowns in the team, I was very uncomfortable with the decision. The decisions to include the clowns were made after prayerful considerations.
The humans from left to right in the picture are Sandy Robinson, Susanne Stimson, Linda Lee, Dale Lee.
The clowns from left to right are Blossom, Mischievous, Little Lee, and Slow Beau with two teenagers that attended the San Fernando Baptist Church. Susanne had two clown characters, Mischievous and Trendi.
Several phone calls to Trinidad, the drama team leader in California, and the other clown team members help me to start putting together plans for the trip. After the initial phone calls, faxes were used to communicate between the clowns and Rev. Rowbottom.
I was able to visit with a person that had a few months earlier been to Trinidad on a mission trip. She had been to the church where the clowns would be based while in Trinidad. Her comments about her trip was very helpful in giving me insights I would need to plan. Her advice was extremely helpful about packing, what to take, and what to do and not do while going through the customs inspection.
As team leader, I distributed to the clowns information about the mission trip that I received from Rev. Rowbottom, the missionaries in Trinidad, and the staff at the International Mission Board. Faxes were used to save money and quickly transfer information. Most of the communications with Rev. Rowbottom were faxes.
Rev. Rowbottom was able to give me a tentative performance schedule with the time allowed for each performance. Programs were planned before leaving on the trip so the appropriate illusions, props, and materials could be packed. Of course after the clowns started performing, new combinations of balloons, illusions, and skits were developed once the clowns got to know each other.
PASSPORT AND IMMUNIZATION SHOTS (OUCH!)
Just the idea that I would need to get a passport was exciting. The forms were filled out with the required two pictures and delivered to the main post office in Richmond, Virginia. We received our passports in less than a month which was quicker than I expected.
Getting the immunization shots was not as enjoyable. It was not required that we receive the Yellow Fever immunization, but it was recommended. I was not sure what Yellow Fever is, but the idea I could have a need for it caused me to feel uneasy for a few days about going to Trinidad.
Linda and I went to the county health department to receive the shots. The immunizations we received were:
The four members of the clown team got to see each other for the first time at the airport at Miami, Florida, the afternoon of May 21. The team members made it through customs in Port of Spain in Trinidad and were met by members of the San Fernando Baptist Church.
I was uncomfortable about going through customs in Trinidad, because I had heard about horror stories told by missionaries when they travel from country to country. I made sure the baby power used in applying clown make-up was in a factory sealed container. I did not want the white powder to be viewed as cocaine. The clown supplies and props we had in our suitcases are not normal for a tourist to have in a suitcase. I had included list of the items in each suitcase so it would look like I was not trying to sneak things into the country. The custom officials looked at my papers and waved me on through. They did not open my suitcases. All that worry for nothing.
SAN FERNANDO BAPTIST CHURCH, SAN FERNANDO, TRINIDAD, W.I.
The clowns were based at the San Fernando Baptist Church in San Fernando, Trinidad.
Rev. Wayne Rowbottom, the pastor of the San Fernando Baptist Church.
CLOWN TEAM MEMBERS MEET ONE DAY AND PERFORM THE NEXT DAY
The clowns got to where they would live while in Trinidad at about 10:00 p.m. on Friday night. The clowns were tired and read to go to bed. The schedule for Saturday was:
9:00-12:30 Clown training conference.
3:00-4:00 Clowns and SFBC puppet team performs at the "Mid-Center" shopping mall.
6:00-7:00 Clowns and puppets perform at the Pizza Boys outdoor dining area.
The cars that transported the clowns were small. When the clowns traveled in one car there were four clowns, a driver, props, and a performing luggage bag packed into the car. Slow Beau and the performing luggage bag ended up in the car's luggage area which he got to by entering through the hatch door in the rear of the car.
Rev. Wayne Rowbottom spent a lot of time verifying the next day's schedule for the clowns. He was constantly juggling the clowns' schedule due to organizations canceling performances or wanting to change the time or date of a performance. The clowns had to be very flexible due to a constant changing schedule.
The Rowbottom home was the home base for the clowns. Most of the meals were eaten at the Rowbottom home.
A typical day for the clowns would start about 5:30 a.m. and end about midnight. The clowns were often in make-up for ten to twelve hours a day. The choice place for putting on the make-up was the front porch where the light was the best. People walking on the sidewalk by the house were in for a surprise when the clowns were putting on their faces.
The first performances would be between eight and nine o'clock in the morning. Evening performances started between six and seven o'clock. On one day, there were seven clown performances and two days had five performances. At the mission church in Longdonville, about thirty children were expected. The church leaders were shocked when one hundred and twenty children attended.
The number of locations at which the clowns performed are:
SCHOOL AUDIENCES FOR CLOWN PROGRAMS
The schools in Trinidad have school uniforms. The church sponsored schools are considered a part of the country's educational system.
Fifth Company Baptist Church primary school.
Marac Baptist Church elementary school.
Marabella Government primary school.
GOVERNMENT DEAF SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN
The government school for the deaf was an exciting place for the clowns to perform. This was the first time for the clowns to work with an interpreter. I performed the needle through the balloon trick for the children. As I started to insert the needle balloon, the children shocked me by acting like normal hearing children. They scooted across the floor away from me and put their hands over their ears. I was later told that even though they may not be able to hear "normal sounds," the children could often hear the pop of a balloon.
A very enthusiastic audience. The clowns had to slow down their performance to give the interpreter time to sign what the clown said to the children. The children had a challenge deciding when to watch the clown or the interpreter. The deaf children were a wonderful audience.
Slow Beau performing the magic trick "Freddie" with the interpreter. The job of the interpreter is difficult. He has to quickly decide how he will to communicate what the speaker (clown) said.
Blossom, Trendi, and interpreter working with caterpillar to butterfly prop.
The clowns performed at the deaf school on Monday. On Tuesday night, the clowns performed in the yard of a home in the Marabella squatters housing area in San Fernando. This is a very poor area of the town. The shacks that served as homes were built of anything the people could secure. The children and adults living in the Marabella area were very receptive to the clowns and the Word of God.
The clowns were walking up and down the streets advertising their performance. I was shocked when something hit me on my legs. I looked down and to my happy surprise, I saw a small boy with his arms wrapped around my legs in a big hug. I recognized his school uniform. He was a student at the deaf school. The little boy's action of hugging the clown surprised his parents. The boy had developed a trust in the clowns that visited his school. He really liked the clowns.
30 CHILDREN EXPECTED - 120 CHILDREN ATTENDED
These are a few of
the children that attended a performance at the Longdonville Mission
of the SFBC. About thirty children were expected, but about one
hundred and twenty children attended from the mission's community.
The mission leaders were very excited. They used this opportunity
to obtain information about the children's families.
Five girls of the San Fernando Baptist Church that adopted Little Lee as their clown.
Little Lee and Micah Rowbottom. Micah was a two and one-half year old ball of energy that loved to help Little Lee put on her make-up and loved to play with the clowns' practice balloons. Blossom taught Micah some of the words to the song, Oh! Susanna. Micah would get the clowns to tie the balloons together so he would walk through the house dragging eight feet of balloons singing at the top of his voice.
The clowns were in Trinidad for eight full days. The one day that was devoted to sightseeing had one clown resting and reading while the other clowns toured the Asa Wright Nature Center and shopped at the Circular Mall in Port of Spain.
The Asa Wright Nature Center was once a private coffee, cocoa, and citrus plantation. The center is a great place for bird watching. The center is known for the many species of humming birds that can be seen at the center. The migration north started about two weeks before the mission trip, but there were many species still at the center. It was an exciting time to watch the bright colored humming birds.
A walking trip was taken by the clowns and their missionary tour guides. Coffee trees, mango trees, lovely flowers, and many birds were seen on the walking tour.
A cashew looks very strange before it is prepared to be eaten. Did you know a cashew is poisonous before it is roasted?
We got to eat tree ripen mango which is very good. There is a BIG difference between the taste of a tree ripen mango and one purchased in a grocery store in Richmond, Virginia.
The restaurant at the center's Lodge was unique. It was built around a very large tree. There were some large branches running through the room and out the roof. The lunch at the Lodge was delicious and a very hot pepper was served with the meal.
The exchange rate during the mission trip was $5.60 TT (Trinidad & Tobago) dollars for $1.00 United States dollars.
Shopping at the Circular Mall in Port of Spain was very similar to a medium sized mall in the USA. The prices in the mall were similar to prices in the USA. Linda and I had a meal of fish (King fish and Flying fish) and chips. An order of King fish, an order of Flying fish, and two large drinks cost $32.51 TT. Both types of fish were good.
Twelve pieces of Kentucky Fried chicken and twelve biscuits cost $71.22 in TT dollars. Kentucky Fried chicken prices in Richmond were about the same after converting to US dollars.
To put the prices in Trinidad in perspective, a school teacher makes about $800.00 TT a month or $142.86 in US dollars. This pay scale makes the prices very high to the people that live in Trinidad. Except for some meat and vegetables, most things used by people in Trinidad have to be imported which raises the prices.
There was one meat shop that the clowns frequently drove by on their trips. The live goats were tied beside the building and dressed goat quarters were hanging from the ceiling of the building's porch. On time there was a goat head hanging from the ceiling. Other meat sold by the meat shop were chickens that had been plucked and were hanging by their feet from the ceiling of the porch.
REACTION OF PEOPLE TO THE CLOWNS AND AMERICANS
I had been told that in Trinidad clowns are often identified with voodoo and black magic so some people are afraid of clowns. I did not get the feeling at any of the children or adults at our performances were afraid of us. The children's reactions to the clowns were no different than American children.
The clowns got to have lunch with a church member's family. The clowns got to walk through their garden. The garden had coconut and banana trees.
LEADING A TEAM ON A MISSION TRIP
Being a first time mission trip team leader was a challenge for me. Plans seemed to constantly change. Most of the challenges I faced as a team leader would be common to any mission trip. A team leader has to work with people when they start to react to the stress of the mission trip. On a mission trip, you will get to see the true person's personality. The more flexible a person is, the easier he will be able to react to unplanned changes. A very rigid personality will present surprises and challenges to the team leader.
There were some unique challenges to the clowns. Limitations when in make-up or having to put on make-up a couple of times a day did limit some interaction with the society on some days. Allowing about an hour and a half for applying make-up and preparing props and balloons and getting dressed added time to the getting ready time that the drama team did not have to consider.
Some factors that influence how stress affects team members.
The team leader has to keep the objectives of the mission trip in focus at all times. The focus of some of the team members will become self-centered as they start reacting to the stressful conditions. It is a challenge to be a team leader. It will be good if a procedure is in place to allow people to express concerns before the concerns get out of hand.
I learned that mission team members must do as instructed by the missionaries and the people living where they are going. We were given specific instructions concerning how to fill out the forms required by the immigration authorities for us to be allowed to enter Trinidad. The drama team members did not fill out the immigration forms as we were instructed. Rev. Rowbottom had to spend parts of two days meeting with the immigration authorities to get them to change their decision about sending the drama team members back to the USA. The drama team arrived on Saturday, but they were not cleared by the immigration authorities until Monday morning. The immigration authorities believed the drama team members to be Mormons or Jehovah's Witness. It seems that at that time, the government officials were not in favor of Mormons and Jehovah's Witness members being allowed to enter the country. Without Rev. Rowbottom's intervention, the drama group's members would have been put on the next available airplane going to the USA.